


Into Calmer Weather

by griffonskies



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: M/M, Mentions of Violence, Mentions of War, Not Beta Read
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-31
Updated: 2019-03-31
Packaged: 2019-12-29 23:07:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,618
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18303626
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/griffonskies/pseuds/griffonskies
Summary: “Tell me about the lake again? The one you’ve been to before the world went crazy.”“It was unreal. The setting Sun made it glow from within. And when the stars came out... I’ll have to take you there one day.”Lance and Shiro travel half the world away to find peace.





	Into Calmer Weather

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Shance Games last March challenge. Including all the prompt words. (mafia, confetti, herb, silence, sport, slime, and music)
> 
> In this fic, there are mentions of war, violence, and exile.  
> Though I have been in very close proximity to some of this in my life, I can luckily say that I have never had to personally experience any of it. And I know I'm lucky for it. 
> 
> I'm sorry for everyone who had to experience any of it.  
> To everyone else, please be as kind as you can to the people around you. You never know how far they had to travel to be standing here, today. Be it physically or mentally.

 

 

_“Tell me about the lake again? The one you’ve been to before the world went crazy.”_

_“It was unreal. The setting Sun made it glow from within. And when the stars came out... I’ll have to take you there one day.”_

 

* * *

 

They parked at the very edge of the mist covered lake. Carefully bringing the van down the slope and opened the backdoors to the water edge. The early morning light was just starting to peak from behind the mountain tops, and through the fog colored everything in dull light. The surface of the water was gray and muddy as gentle waves reached for the shore. Alone on the beach, they had the whole area to themselves, so they built a firepit and made breakfast. They sat there for a while just watching the water move and Black and Blue played in the shallows.

Shiro sighed, “I’m sorry it doesn’t look like much, after all the hype I gave it.”

“Hush,” said Lance, taking one of Shiro's hands to kiss the back, “We’re in no hurry. The fog will clear at some point and then you can show me everything.”

Shiro smiled, he raised the hand Lance was still holding to Lance’s chin and leaned in to kiss his cheek, “I love you.”

Lance headbutted back until they were forehead to forehead, “Charmer ~”

Shiro hm-ed, “There’s a nice rock formation for climbing near. If you want to go...”

“... why didn’t you mention that before!?”

Shiro just laughed.

“Takashi!”

Lance dived into the truck. Pushing up the bed area to get at the storage boxes underneath. One of them for hiking gear and the other for Lance’s favorite hobby, rock climbing. He gets out the harnesses and safety gear, the ropes and the climbing chalk.

His clothes are next and here he takes a look around to see if anyone was around, and just found Shiro looking at him intensely. Lance smirked at him and proceeded to leisurely change into his form-fitting climbing gear, every once in a while looking coyly back at Shiro over his shoulder. And feeling quite proud when he noticed that Shiro just got more and more flustered as he went on.

When he finished Shiro came closer and reached for the backpack with the gear over Lance’s shoulder, “You little tease.”

Lance couldn’t help laughing.

They hiked by the lake and up a slope until the path hugged the foot of the mountain. Up and through a pine forest, and on the other side, they found a vertical rock formation, reaching up into a blue, blue sky. The beautiful nature and the challenge of the wall already had Lance excited and he would have loved to just jump on it and free climb it.

But he gets the harness and helmet on, ties the ropes and readies the nuts. From the corner of his eyes, he can see Shiro relax minutely, a small smile spreading over his face and he turns away trying to hide the relief. As if Lance wouldn’t notice.

Lance loved the exhilarating feeling of free climbing. The sheer freedom of it despite everything. For a long time, this was the only way he even could climb. But Shiro couldn’t help but worry, after everything, fear and anxiety gripping him until Lance was back on solid ground. Yet he never said nor did anything to stop Lance, and Lance loved him for it.

But forcing Shiro through that fear was unacceptable… after everything. So they needed a middle ground.

By far this was the easiest balancing act they've ever had to do in their relationship. There were no long night talks and no outsider perspective needed. (unlike that one time they had to settle on the number of kids ~~cats~~ they could adopt, that required a multitude of counselor visits, and sleeping on the couch… for both parties)

Shiro didn’t want for Lance to give up climbing and Lance wouldn’t purposefully make Shiro worry if he could help it.

Maybe he couldn’t give up climbing, but safety gear he could do... Most of the time.

_“I’ll… I’ll still want to free climb sometimes.”_

_“I know, I understand that.”_

Lance started climbing up the wall as Shiro held the other end of the rope at the bottom. Up one part, a second part, over one row of trees and then he was over the top of the tallest pines around them. He stopped at one point to look at the horizon. He could see the lake cutting a valley through the mountains and forests around it, the still early Sun above the fog, coloring the scattered clouds pink.

 

* * *

 

Pink and red confetti rained from the sky and fell in front of Lance’s rifle, almost obscuring his view of their client. He huffed as the confetti cleared and continued to monitor the crowd below. His sight glided over to Shiro, one of the guards standing right by their client - the new shop owner.

Usually, there was no way that an event such as this could afford their services. But the client was the only son of their boss, and as stupid as it was for him to be so out in the open, he needed protection from the rival mafia groups.

His communicator vibrated and their team leader asked for status. Lance reported an all clear.

The grand opening went on, a small bird flew in and landed right by him. It hopped a few times, tilted its head at him. It chirped and just then Lance spotted danger from Shiro’s right side. He called out the warning. His shot was blocked by crew members. Shiro raised his hand in an attack and chaos erupted.

Later, much later lance would be leafing through his families potions book, the only thing he still had from them and mixing an assortment of herbs into a slimy, gooey substance. He’d add lavender to the mix, a little for it’s healing properties but mostly to make it not smell as bad as it did. He’d spread it carefully over Shiro’s healing wounds, trying to ignore the other hissing at the feel of it. Then wrapping the wounds in an as clean cloth as they could get, in this war and poverty-torn place.

Even later, as time went on and more and more scars mered their skin. A knife scar in an arena fight that almost sliced Shiro’s face in half. A starburst on Lance’s back from falling off a building while climbing without equipment. Even later as the streets outside dissolved into chaos and lives along with it.

Even later, when one night they sat on the bathroom floor, chest to back and Lance leaned in and just looked at Shiro and Shiro looked back. And they held their gazes for a time.

Lance half turned for an embrace, and then they were up and gathering their things into backpacks, took what food and water they had and said goodbye to their home.

At four in the morning, that so, so silent time, when half the world was falling asleep and the other half was not yet awake, they slipped out their home, down the street, out the city and pass the forest. Pass the mountains, the rivers, and the valleys. A continent away they found a new place to live.

They had luck, so so much luck. From all the horror stories they heard, they knew they got lucky and Lance felt he could bow down to every god in history in gratitude and relief.

Shiro had a friend who could take them in for a while, and Lance had another friend who could give them a temporary job.

Lance was good with people and Shiro was good at engineering. And both those things were luckily in high, high demand.

Things finally started settling, they got a new home, they found Black and Blue at a shelter. They found new friends.

Lance even cried when he was finally reunited with family members that managed to move away before the world went crazy...

_“I did promise to take you to the lakes right?”_

 

* * *

 

The midday Sun had pushed away from the fog and the lake was left clear and beautiful in the stark light of day. The bright blue skies and white clouds reflected in its calm surface.

It wasn’t the most breathtaking view they’ve ever seen. With having traveled half the world over. But it was something else and meant something so much more.

Shiro came to stand at his back, embracing him around the waist and leaning in cheek to cheek. “What do you think?”

“It’s... calm,” said Lance, and they both knew that he wasn’t talking only about the lake.

Shiro hugged him tighter “I’m glad. You’ve been so brave for so long now, love.”

Lance turned around in his grip, hugging him around the neck and leaning in for a kiss. “Wasn’t just me.”

The evening brought a display of colors with it. The lake going from bright blue to red to purple and then, finally, a deep dark blue reflecting the vast universe above it.

Lance looked up from his book, lying on the bed, Shiro sleeping half over his chest and their cats purring curled up in the crock of Shiro’s arm. It was time to get up.

They turned on the fairy lights in the van and put on some light music as they prepared dinner. And later when the dishes were cleared and Black and Blue purring on the bed Lance grabbed Shiro’s hand and twirled and slow danced them around their small private beach. Their laughter echoing off the silent lake surface, the stars twinkling in the reflection.

 

 


End file.
